Thursday, December 18, 2014

Morocco All-time 23 member team

Morocco 1986

Please also see myAll-Time World Cup Team Index.Before 1950's, Morocco was playing under France. A large number of talented Moroccans were playing in the French league. Larbi
Benbarek was a star with the French national team. As an independent country, Morocco qualified for the 1970 World Cup Finals, where they managed a draw with Bulgaria. In 1986, they beat Portugal 3-1 in the group stage before narrowly lost to eventual finalist West Germany 1-0 at the round of 16. They became the first African country to advance to the second round of the WC Finals. In 1998, Morocco was on pace to reach the second round, but Norway pulled an upset against Brazil in the Final match, where Brazil had already qualified for the second round and treated the match as a meaningless one. Norway progressed at the expense of Morocco. However, despite, their performance at the WC Finals, they did not do as well in African Cup of Nations. They only won the Cup once in 1976.

This is my 23-member all-time team for Morocco. I also did all-time teams for Northern Africa (including Sudan) and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Morocco 1998

TeamGK: Badou EzzakiHe
was African Player of the Year in 1986 after leading Morocco to the
second round of the WC Finals in Mexico. He also enjoyed a successful
career with Mallorca in Spain.

Tahar El-Kalej

GK: Allal Ben KassouHe played for the Morocco at the 1964 Summer Olympics and at the 1970 World Cup finals. He played 116 times for the Morocco football team.
In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.

GK: Mohammed Hazzaz He also played for MAS Fez. He also represented Morocco at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

RB: Larbi Aherdane He is considered one of Morocco's greatest defenders. He played for Wydad Casablanca in the 1970's.

CB: Noureddine NaybetNaybet was one of the best African defender ever. He played a record 115 matches for the Moroccan national team, representing the country in two World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He spent most successful period of his career with Deportivo La Coruña in Spain. He won the 1999-2000 league title with them. He was one of the best center-back in La Liga.

Noureddine Naybet

CB: Medhi Benatia At the time of writing, he is considered one of the top center-backs in the world. He first made a name with Udinese and then, Roma, where he was a top defender in the Serie A. In the summer of 2014, he joined Bayern Munich. He saw limited action in Germany. In 2016, he was sent on loan to Juventus.CB: Mustapha YaghchaIn 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years. He played club football for Difaa El Jadida, and also played for CS Chênois and Servette FC in the Swiss Super League. He went to the 1972 Olympics.

CB: Mustapha El BiyazIn 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years. He played club football with KAC Marrakech and had a brief spell with F.C. Penafiel in the Portugal. He went to the WC finals in 1986.

CB:Mustapha BettacheHe started his career with Wydad Casablanca played as a defender for eight years under the direction of Kader Firoud at Nîmes Olympique in France .

He
made a name at the WC finals in 1986. He was voted as the second best
player at the African Player of the Year ward in 1986. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years. He started his professional career at Wydad Casablanca, before moving to FC Sion, Matra Racing, Olympique Lyon, Estoril and St Gallen.

Aziz Bouderbala

CB/DM: Tahar El KhalejHe played for several clubs, including UD Leiria and Benfica in Portugal, and for Southampton and Charlton Athletic in England. He played 49 times for the Morocco and was a participant at the 1994 World Cup and at the 1998 World Cup.

CM: Driss Bamous In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years. He played club football for FAR Rabat. He played for Morocco in the 1963 Olympics and 1970 World Cup. He was also trained as a soldier.CM: Abdelmajid DolmyHe
earned 140 caps for Morocco and went to the WC in 1986. He was chosen
by CAF as one of the best 200 African footballers of the last 50 years. Dolmy played mainly for Raja Casablanca.CM: Youssef ChippoHe was capped 62 times. He represented Morocco at the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1998 WC Finals. He played aboard for Porto and Coventry.

He spent his most of his professional career in France, playing for St. Etienne, Nice, Lens, etc. He was capped 46 times. He played in the 1986 and 1994 WC finals.

CM/DM: Abderrahman Mahjoub Born
in Morocco, he represented France at the World Cup Finals in 1954. He
captained Morocco at the 1962 World Cup. Known as Prince du Parc (Prince of the Park) in his playing days for his dominant control of the midfield, was one of the best Arab players of his generation, and one of the few who graced the sports fields of Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a long time member of
Racing Club of Paris.

AM: Mohamed Timoumi(Morocco)He
was named African Footballer of the Year in 1985. he represented
Morocco at the World Cup Finals in 1986. At club level, Mohammed Timoumi
won the CAF Champions League with FAR Rabat. He also played in Spain and Belgium.

Mohamed Timoumi

AM/RW: Mustapha HadjiHadji grew up in France, but chose to represent Morocco in 1993. He went to
the WC Finals in 1994 and 1998. After the WC Finals in 1998, he won the
African Player of the Year award that year. He was named the 50th greatest African player of all time by African football expert Ed Dove. Professionally, he played for many clubs mainly in Spain and England. He had stints with Nancy, Sporting SP, Deportivo La Coruna, Coventry, Aston Villa, etc.

Mustapha Hadji

FW: Ahmed FarasHe
is the greatest Moroccan player of all-time. He was named African Footballer of the Year in 1975. He was captain of
Morocco for 8 years. He won the African Cup of Nations in 1976. He
also played in the 1970 WC Finals. He spent all of his playing career with his native Chabab Mohammédia.

Ahmed Faras

ST: Hassan AkesbiHe went to play in France during the 1950's. He longest stint in France was with Nimes Olympique.
He was chosen by CAF as one of the best 200 African footballers of the
last 50 years. He played for Morocco from 1960 to 1970.ST: Salaheddine BassirHe played for Morocco and went to the 1998 World Cup, where he scored two goals in the 3–0 win against Scotland. He played for Raja Casablanca, Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Deportivo La Coruña (Spain), OSC Lille (France) and Aris Thessaloniki (Greece). ST: Marouane ChamakhBorn in France. He played for the French youth team before switching to play for Morocco at the senior level in 2003. He started his career with Bordeaux before moving to England, where he played for Arsenal, West Ham and Crystal Palace.

Marouane Chamakh

Tahar El-Kalej

Tahar El-KaleST: Marouane Chamakh

ST: Salaheddine BassirHe played for Morocco and went to the 1998 World Cup, where he scored two goals in the 3–0 win against Scotland. He played for Raja Casablanca, Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Deportivo La Coruña (Spain), OSC Lille (France) and Aris Thessaloniki (Greece).

Squad ExplanationLarbi
Benbarek never played for Morocco and he was capped by France. So he
belonged to France in terms of international football just liked Just
Fontaine.